Movie · 1985 · Adventure, Fantasy · 1h 34m · PG · English
Curator score: 1.8/10 (167.8K ratings)
There may never be another dawn.
Overview
Set in a timeless mythical forest inhabited by fairies, goblins, unicorns and mortals, this fantastic story follows a mystical forest dweller, chosen by fate, to undertake a heroic quest. He must save the beautiful Princess Lili and defeat the demonic Lord of Darkness, or the world will be plunged into a never-ending ice age.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.8/10
IMDb: 6.3/10
Letterboxd: 3.15/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 78%
Metacritic: 30
TMDB: 6.2/10
Director
Ridley Scott
Production
Embassy International Pictures, Legend Production Company, Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox
Cast
Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, David Bennent, Alice Playten, Billy Barty, Cork Hubbert, Peter O'Farrell, Kiran Shah, Annabelle Lanyon, Robert Picardo, Tina Martin, Ian Longmur, Michael Crane, Liz Gilbert, Eddie Powell, Mike Edmonds, Jeff Davies
Curator Review
Verdict
A wildly imaginative fantasy spectacle with unforgettable creature design, a lush synth score, and a full-tilt commitment to mood over logic. It’s uneven as a story, but as a visual and sensory experience it’s a cult favorite for good reason.
Best for
80s fantasy fans
viewers who love practical effects and creature makeup
people who enjoy style-first, dreamlike worldbuilding
fans of synth-heavy scores and maximalist production design
Skip if
you want tight plotting and consistent pacing
you dislike camp or earnest fantasy melodrama
you prefer modern CGI polish over practical effects
you need your fantasy to feel grounded or self-serious
Overview
Legend is the kind of fantasy film that survives on atmosphere, not narrative precision. Ridley Scott builds a forest realm that feels like a fever dream: glittering, damp, eerie, and strangely romantic. The movie’s pleasures are tactile and immediate, from the elaborate creature work to the way every frame seems dusted in myth and menace.
Worth noting
Tim Curry’s Lord of Darkness is the film’s most famous creation for a reason: he’s grotesque, seductive, and genuinely intimidating, a villain performance that turns excess into iconography. Tom Cruise and Mia Sara are more functional than transcendent, but the movie around them is so committed to its own enchanted logic that their simplicity works.
Bottom line
It’s not a clean adventure and it’s not trying to be. Legend is closer to a visual spell than a conventional quest film, and that’s what makes it endure. If you’re open to something messy, gorgeous, and a little deranged, it’s absolutely worth the trip.
Top Letterboxd reviews
matt lynch (3.5★) · 2963 likes
yeah i know but just look at it.
Joe (3.5★) · 1842 likes
Why did Tom Cruise grab the armored top but not the pants?
emma (5★) · 1706 likes
glitter budget off the shits
Jordan Beaumont Anderson (3.5★) · 1044 likes
What else do you people want? This fucking thing has:
- Tim Curry wrapped in a thousand pounds of sexy latex.- Tom Cruise hugging a fox.- A Tangerine Dream score played with one elbow.- Lengthy unicorn pornography.- "I could eat her brains like jam."- Tom Cruise wearing a scale mail dress.- There's a fucking character named Honeythorn Gump.- Mia Sara, nailing her performance and still being the second prettiest.- A swamp witch… more
Ian West (4.5★) · 833 likes
A link to the past.
Very strong chance that this may be the most visually appealing movie as far as my tastes go—beautiful on all fronts with lush scenery, hypnotic visual atmos soundwaved with euphoric tones courtesy of Tangerine Dream, the best goblins and melty faced creatures I’ve ever seen, and the single scariest image from my youth that I would eventually become obsessed with—Darkness.
A friend recently said that this will probably be the best Legend of Zelda movie… more
1986 · Adventure, Family, Fantasy · 1h 41m · PG · Curator 6.1/10 (643.5K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Hulu, fuboTV, Peacock Premium, Night Flight Plus, Netflix Standard with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus
Shares the same 80s fantasy sensibility: ornate production design, playful menace, and a story driven by atmosphere and iconography.
1986 · Adventure, Action, Fantasy · 1h 56m · R · Curator 3.2/10 (271.4K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Peacock Premium, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus
A mythic fantasy-adventure with romantic melancholy, immortals, and a strong cult-movie afterglow.